Key learning points

1. Shelley was a Romantic poet who rejected monarchy, religion and other powerful institutions.
2. ‘Ozymandias’ reflects Romanticism e.g. awe of nature, emotion, rejection of human power, fascination with the past.
3. The poem reflects the power of pharaonic Egypt, which seemed eternal but fell to ruin.
4. ‘Ozymandias’ can be read as a criticism of individuals and institutions that consider themselves invincible.
5. ‘Ozymandias’ can be read as an allegory for the ephemeral nature of human power.

Keywords

• Romantic - literature, popular in the late 18th and early 19th century that explored emotion and nature.

• Immortalise - to cause someone to be remembered for a long time.

• Ephemeral - lasting for only a short time.

• Pacifist - someone who is against war.

• Allegory - a piece of work in which the characters or events represent moral ideas.

Common misconception